HCSD Roof Hardening Nearing Completion

(HARRISON COUNTY, MS) A huge roof hardening project in the Harrison County School District is in its final stages. Work is currently underway on eight buildings that are in need of stronger roofs to withstand hurricane-force winds of up to 180 miles per hour. FEMA approved a nearly $7 million grant in August of 2018 for the roof renovation project.

Here are the eight schools that are getting stronger roofs:

Bel-Aire Elementary

D’Iberville Elementary

Harrison County Child Development Center

Harrison County Alternative School & Administrative Building

Lizana Elementary

Lyman Elementary

Saucier Elementary

West Wortham Elementary & Middle School

Those eight remaining schools are part of an ongoing district-wide wind retrofitting project to make sure all HCSD facilities are better prepared for the next storm. Roofs on 14 buildings in the school district have already been hardened. FEMA has contributed a total of $28 million to the Harrison County School District for the retrofitting project, with a five-percent match from the District.

“We are grateful for the federal funding to better protect our buildings and our students and staff during powerful storms,” said Harrison County School District Superintendent Roy Gill. “The process to install stronger roofs in the Harrison County School District started about five years ago, and we are now in the final round. By the end of January, every school building in HCSD will have a new, stronger roof that, hopefully, will extend the life of each building by 40 to 50 years.”